


Isolation versus Solitude

by texensis



Category: Homestuck
Genre: (enemies may be a strong word for this), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Meteorstuck, Slow Build, davekat - Freeform, like your basic davekat meteor stuck and then some, not sure if the rating will go up in future, theres going to be characters to add as this goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-05-18 17:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5937198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/texensis/pseuds/texensis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat feels like he was much better at interaction when it was behind a screen. Adjusting to life on the meteor with the new residents feels impossibly hard, so Karkat decides not to deal with it at all. Unfortunately, there are those on the meteor that insist on sticking their face into his business.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lifestyle? Sedentary

**Author's Note:**

> hey so i havent written something and POSTED it in years but i think im finally ready to get back out there. decided to start with something that i personally feel wont be an emotionally draining undertaking. its a slow first chapter but it's a start, edited by the lovely softjades!!

A great troll once said "Memorizing movies down to every line of dialogue isn't healthy; get a job, you punkass", but sadly and infuriatingly - even now with his blood colour not being much of a deal at all - Karkat has no hopes of getting any kind of goddamn job thanks to being stuck on a desolate hunk of rock where every season's hot and fashionable colour is apparently grey. It works for Karkat when it comes to fashion, he supposes, but otherwise this meteor is the worst excuse for a refuge and is more akin to, well... a meteor. That's all it's good for. There is nothing but space rock happening there. Want a view? Have the empty darkness of nothing for comfort while you wait to strike your destination at light speed!

Yeah, no, Karkat has tried everything in the book to curb his boredom and frustration with this situation and now everything he found fun has become overused to the point where it hurts his head to even think about putting himself through it again. Movie library? Done. Computer programming? He'd have to be insane to try that again. Books? He destroyed some in sheer frustration at how much enjoyment had been sucked away into the never ending black hole that is his need for entertainment. The only thing he hasn't tried is to be incredibly chummy with the rest of the occupants of this metal crap-pile. He's pretty sure that everyone has already paired off with each other, anyway.

Karkat's face is buried in his floor pile of various items he once loved but couldn't give a flying fuck about anymore. He knows he won't last doing nothing like this, but it's been so long since anyone's really seen him, let alone talked to him face to face, that he feels like it'd be ridiculous to go out there now. What's he supposed to say? 'Yeah I fucked off for at least a quarter of a sweep, maybe more, how are you all?'

His husktop does its own unique sound to notify Karkat that either he forgot to charge it, or someone is actually trying to pester him. The latter is sometimes a daily occurrence, but mostly every two or three days. He pulls himself from the pile with a groan and lays beside his husktop, not motivated enough to sit and read what it wants. To Karkat's (NOT) surprise, it's the weekly spam from Dave. He silences his husktop and rolls back over into the pile with another pitiful groan. He gave up reading the walls of red text that Dave always insisted upon a long time ago. More often than not it's a whole bunch of rambling that Karkat barely understands, so Karkat doesn't think he's missing out on much this time for ignoring it.

Usually Karkat is happy with an occasional chat with Kanaya or Terezi, even Vriska at times (he refuses to ever admit it), but the humans are still rather new territory for him. They were still new when he spent years bugging them before their Sgrub-- Sorry, SBURB session started, but now that they're here on the meteor -- two of them, at least -- it makes Karkat increasingly self conscious. The way he tried to contact the humans in the past was downright fucking embarrassing, and now that they have a face to go with all those ridiculous rants he went on, he just can't shake that they think less of him for that. Not like he should give a shit, but... Ugh. Did he always wallow in self pity like this? He can't remember. How long has he been laying in this fucking pile? Fuck.

Karkat tries to summon all of his strength to actually stand up, but only manages to roll himself onto the hard, metal floor. He frowns. How he's behaving is starting to piss him off. Wow. No, alright, he can't just fucking go ahead and think that, because he's just baiting himself to start harrassing past Karkats again. Hmm. It would be something to do, though... No, no! He refuses to seek arguments with those jackasses for some entertainment. He snarls to himself and damn, that was a strong one. It's echoing around the room. He almost feels proud of himself until it gets louder, which he's pretty sure no matter how warped time and space is out here, that is not how things work.

He realizes what the sound actually is as it's outside his door. Holy fucking shit, he's been so out of tune with everything that he forgot what footsteps sounded like? The fleeting pride from before is now squashed by incredible shame, which grabs hold of him and sets him on the rails to the ride of self-hatred, but the two loud knocks against his door that come next do a decent job of derailing him.

Karkat has no time to answer it. The door is flung open and makes a loud clang against the wall as Vriska barges in. Ughghh, just sink into the floor, Karkat... if you try hard enough, maybe you can do it...

Preparation to endure a barrage of questions and scolding for being a lazy piece of shit is thrown out of the window as Vriska instead picks him up as if he were some kind sack filled with feathers! Rude! He struggles against her grip and shouts as she lifts him over her head.

"Put me down, fuck! My legs work, Vriska," Karkat yells at full volume. His voice creaks and cracks, and for once it's because of underuse.

"Really? 'Cause the way I saw it, you were laying on the ground like a wiggler that got its legs torn off, so obviously they don't!" she bites back. "You can't just sit in your room for a sweep and a half, Karkat! It's just not working that way! You need to fucking exist, or something!"

Karkat keeps struggling, but Vriska greatly out-muscles him. "I can do whatever the fuck I feel like doing, for your information! And I don't need you acting concerned about me when you haven't given a shit for this long, like, wow, thanks, you amazing 'friend'! You came to get me when I was ready to submit myself to the fact that no one cared what I was doing or where I was this whole time! It's only been Earth MONTHS!" His voice sounds like metal in a blender that gets pushed to a higher setting the longer he tries to yell.

"I'm glad you appreciate it, your royal crabbiness!" Vriska laughs. And then she's stopping, placing Karkat in a seat. "We tried messaging you, so that was your chance for the easy way out. But guess what? You blew it!"

Karkat takes a look around him and immediately takes up a defensive position, crossing his arms and slouching into his sweater. Everyone (excluding Gamzee) has taken a seat in the common area and is staring at Karkat like he just got plucked from another dimension. 

"What?!" he shouts to the room. They look away, but Karkat can see a select few (see: all) grinning to themselves. "I hate you, Vriska," he grumbles.

"Riiiiiiiight, well, I've done my job, so I'm pretty satisfied." Vriska heads over to the table where Terezi is seated with Dave. "So suck it up! Suck it like you want that poison called 'laziness' out of your system!"

Karkat's slouch only grows. His face feels flushed and he can feel the tension in his shoulders already. What is he supposed to do now? Sure, he's here, but he doesn't have anyting worthwhile to do or anyone to talk to. Kanaya is busy with Rose and Terezi is busy with Vriska and Dave... uh, well, actually, Vriska and Terezi are mostly busy with each other. Funnily enough, Dave looks uncomfortable and like he's trying too hard to do whatever he's doing with his computer. Hah. 

It still doesn't defeat the feeling that Karkat is totally out of place here.

He supposes that trying to 'chill' in this social atmosphere is the best he's going to get for now. He'll be running back to his room when Vriska leaves the common area, though. To do what? He doesn't know, but it's probably more tolerable than watching the couples in the room slobber all over each other.

Eventually, after about an hour of staring at the floor like it's the most interesting thing he's ever seen, Karkat falls asleep in the armchair he was placed in without noticing. As it turns out, boredom makes one really fucking tired.


	2. Murky Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had no idea that doing pesterlogs required so much but hey, oh well, i think i got it right? im still unsure of how to get some other features into the text but if i work it out i'll edit it. purely for aesthetics. edited by the lovely softjades!!

Karkat's dream involves a pixilated meteor passing through coloured barriers in different basic colours and directions. Even though in his subconscious he knows that the meteor is moving fast, the dream makes the movement seem sluggish. Not surprisingly, each barrier that the grey ball of pixels touches blows up and the level plays over. Karkat can hear music at various points of this dream, but it cuts out at times and stays at a muffled volume. It really bugs Karkat because he wants to hear more of it, but he can't make it any louder with his mind. He starts to hear other sounds, like clicking and tapping, and that's when Karkat is pulled back into the waking world.

He panics momentarily because he's sitting and he's not sure where he is. It takes a few moments for his brain to reboot before he can realise that he fell asleep in the common room on the dusty armchair Vriska forced him into. He opens a tired eye and scopes the scene. The room is dark? Darker than it usually is, anyway. He quickly realises that everyone decided to call it a day and went to sleep.

Jesus, how long has he been sleeping here? Karkat doesn't want to think about that, actually, because he knows later that someone's going to come up to him and show photos of his ugly sleeping faces.

He still hears the music from his dream, though. Karkat sits up and stretches, continuing to inspect the room. There's nothing to see until he turns himself around in the seat. He spots Dave over in a corner of the room with his computer flooding light onto his face, making him look much paler than he actually is. Why is he still out?

Dave notices Karkat's movement and glances up for a moment before going back to his computer, adjusting the headphones on his ears. Weird. Karkat was expecting a snide comment or something similar about how long he's been asleep here, but he's getting nothing. Maybe ignoring Dave's rants by text has made Karkat ineligable for verbal conversation? He doubts it. Dave's probably just minding his own business. Karkat is curious about the behaviour, though.

Karkat stands, stretching again and scratches at his side. He makes an attempt to shrug off his curiosity and starts to walk in the direction of his room. He passes Dave on the way there, and that seems to be a cue for Dave to finally speak up.

"'Sup," he offers simply.

Karkat stops on the spot and turns back to Dave, who is still messing with his computer. He spoke! Karkat gets a free pass to pry, now. That's how it works and no one will tell him otherwise. "'Sup? What are you doing on the floor?"

Dave looks up at Karkat and removes a headphone from his ear, making it clear to Karkat that Dave never actually expected a response. "What? Didn't hear you."

"Obviously," Karkat says in a deadpan. "Why are you on the floor?" he repeats.

Dave shrugs in response and moves a cord connected to the computer. "Power outlet? Just trying to save my computer from dying on me when I'm in the zone like this. I was like, man, I should sleep, 'cause everyone else was doing that, but I'm just not feelin' it yet so here I am with my ass parked on the floor. That a problem?"

"I don't care," Karkat mumbles. "When did everyone leave?"

Dave shrugs again. "Fuck if I know."

Karkat frowns. "Aren't you some fancy Knight of Time? How could you not know?"

Dave pulls a face of annoyance and waves his hand dissmisively. "Time is warped out here, dude, so even if I was paying attention to shit like that I could only give an estimate. Besides, I'm kinda in the middle of something here, so... See you in another seven months, I guess?"

"Wow," Karkat grumbles. He doesn't have the energy for a smart retort just yet. He ends the talk there and walks back to his room like he intended to do. He's not even sure if he should bother? He's already slept and there's nothing worthwhile in there anymore. 

He ends up in the room anyway and decides to actually read the messages he ignored earlier on his husktop. It's something to do, at least. It turns out that Dave wasn't the only one messaging him. Vriska and Kanaya left their own messages, too, which Karkat decides to deal with first.

\---

AG: Karkat, this is your last chance! If you don't 8e a good gru8 and get your 8utt out here to the common area, I'm going to drag you from your room!  
AG: And I'm 8eing serious! I've had it with you 8eing like this.  
AG: Karkaaaaaaaat.  
AG: Right, well, I'll 8e seeing you REAL soon, then.

\---

AG: You're the life of the party, you know that, Karkat? Falling asleep just screams liveliness.  
AG: At least it was funny. May8e you want these? ::::)

(images attached: 88y.png, 8oo.png, slo88ereverywhere.png, pose1.png, pose2.png, pose3.png, terezideuce.png, imreadyformycloseup.png)

\---

Karkat does not touch the pictures at all. The names of most of them give him enough of an idea of what they contain and it makes him cringe. He goes to Kanaya's messages, hoping for something better than _that_.

\---

GA: Karkat I Am Glad To Have Seen You After Such A Long Absence  
GA: I Had Hoped To Talk To You Earlier But You Seemed To Have Become Unavailable Rather Quickly  
GA: When You Find The Time Could You Contact Me? I Wish To Talk Troll To Troll  
GA: That Is Meaning Just You And Me And No One Else At All

\---

Karkat gets the feeling the Kanaya meant to continue there but didn't. If she's really that desperate to talk then it makes him think that something bad happened. He has missed a lot by staying secluded. He can't bring himself to ignore it. It is Kanaya after all, and he respects Kanaya a lot.

\---

CG: WE CAN TALK.  
CG: IS THIS THAT URGENT THAT YOU CAN'T TELL ME THROUGH THE CHAT?  
CG: IT'S PROBABLY URGENT. YEAH. JUST TELL ME WHERE TO GO THEN AND I'LL BE THERE.

\---

And now there's just Dave's messages for Karkat to skim through.

\---

TG: dave here with your sorta weekly report titled where the fuck are you dude did you die  
TG: no but really are you cause i havent heard movies blaring when i go strolling around your part of town in a while and its like  
TG: slightly disturbing to not hear the sweet sound of shitty troll romcoms and dramas  
TG: like you dont even talk back anymore too  
TG: which i guess is fine when im just spamming you here because im hella bored  
TG: pretty sure everyone is bored and is trying their best to keep cool about it  
TG: the two year mark will come along and well all be flipping our shit about how goddamn desolate this hunk of shit is and youll probably still be holed up in there or at least your bones if you really did kick the bucket  
TG: oh whoa total innuendo right come on man you should scold me for it  
TG: nothing  
TG: damn  
TG: whatever  
TG: btw vriskas finally flipping her shit about your absence too  
TG: you dont know it but youre getting such a roasting right now and its kind of funny to watch vriska try and yell on voice to text so she can message you and then slam a keyboard when it dosent turn out right  
TG: i dont get why shed think her type quirk thing would be included  
TG: yknow usually i just write these things to do something with myself and kill time but now its actually kinda pissing me off that youre shutting everyone out dude  
TG: like damn sorry should me and rose escort ourselves out of this place will that get you to scuttle on out??  
TG: pretty sure its me and rose that set this off right  
TG: not even sure how you plan to do anything by sitting in there for the estimate three years of travel time  
TG: pays to smarten up and suffer through socializing than suffer through whatever the hell youre doing in there because i already know damn well as a guy who never had much of a fulfilling relationship with the guy that "raised" me i couldnt just lay there until my mattress was all sunk in, basically consuming me into the pits of springs and bedbugs  
TG: like i at least went out to get a burger occasionally  
TG: roll around town like a fuckin hipster with my camera and take pics of whatever seemed interesting enough  
TG: i think what im saying is that dude you dont even have to fucking talk to anyone just get out here and wow i am realizing that this vent is mixing in with vriskas and now i feel gross for being some weird conduit from her to you  
TG: haha shes actually going to get you now fuck man look forward to that one you are in for it

\---

Karkat is surprised at the set of messages. This is the first time Dave's ever been anything other than a rambling douche-lord in these things and it actually makes Karkat feel guilty for ignoring them all. Well, not absolutely guilty, but at least a little bit. 

He frowns at the red text on his screen and figures it's too late to message back to all of that so he leaves it. He's sure this is why Dave was so flippant to him earlier, and Karkat knows now that he absolutely deserved it. But, then again, he never even entertained the idea that the humans would give two shits if they didn't have to undergo Karkat's ever-famous rants ever again. It's strange to think that maybe they had actually been looking forward to talking to him this entire time.

Well, fuck. Karkat really blew it, then, didn't he?

His husktop chimes, making Karkat jump.

\---

GA: I Am Awake  
GA: Not That I Have Actually Slept  
GA: And Yes I Am Insisting On A Physical Talking With You If That Is Okay  
GA: I Will Meet You In The Lab  
GA: To Be More Specific I Mean The Lab With The Various And Rather Disturbing Figures Suspended In Lime Fluid  
GA: They Look Awfully Similar To Our Deceased Lusii  
GA: I Am Hesitant To Call It An Ectobiology Lab But That Could Also Be What It Is  
GA: Anyway I Believe That It Is The Best Place To Talk Because I Do Not Even Want To Go There To Talk So Why Should Anyone Else  
GA: I Will See You There

\---

Kanaya goes offline immediately. Huh, she must mean business. Karkat bites at his lip and gets ready to go out to find her. He thinks he knows the location that she's talking about, but also feels like his sense of direction has gone all over the place after allowing his surroundings become solely of his room and the few various others that cater to one's needs.

He heads out from his room with hesitance and begins trying to navigate his way through this fucking nightmare of a place. He's worried about what he's going to be talking about with Kanaya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was very unsure of where to end this but i figured that this would be enough, considering the long talk ahead. thank you for the support so far!


	3. A Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as soon as homestuck started updating/finishing i got kinda nervous to post would u believe but i'd like to think things have calmed down enough by now that i can just do what i intended with this

Kanaya is sitting on the floor with her legs pulled to her chest, frowning at the floor when Karkat finally arrives to the lab. She looks him over with relief pats the ground beside her invitingly to sit down as well.

"Sorry I was late," Karkat grumbles, not joining her on the floor just yet. It took him at least fifteen minutes of bumbling around like a brainless turdmunch to get even remotely close to the area. "Someone needs to make a map of this place."

Kanaya waves it off and gives a small smile instead. "I'm thankful that you made it here in the first place."

Karkat shrugs and looks around. It's dark and creepy in here. Like, really creepy. It's giving him an unwelcome sense of nostalgia to when Gamzee flipped off the fucking handle and went murder-crazy on everyone. At least he can trust that Kanaya was right and no one else will actually come here and interrupt.

"You wanted to talk?" Karkat asks, trying to get right to the point. He crosses his arms and waits. Kanaya pulls her knees close again and gnaws at her lip.

"Yes, I... I am experiencing issues concerning... Rose?" Kanaya winces as she says it, like it's some kind of secret she's spilling and expecting to be judged harshly for.

If this were anyone else, Karkat would be walking away. He's sick of being the guy that has to help out with romantic issues when his own quadrants are barren wastelands with history of failure and general shittiness. But this is Kanaya. And even if Karkat isn't enthralled by the subject of her relationship with the human he feels obligated to help. It doesn't stop a faint grimance from appearing on his face, though.

"Just a heavy fucking disclaimer before we delve further into this: I know jack shit about humans in comparison to what you probably have on me, so don't expect a miracle if you're planning to launch into their abnormal behaviour and confusing social standards," Karkat huffs and sits down by Kanaya. "Now, how can I assist you?" 

Kanaya appears grateful for Karkat at least humouring this and briefly shows the beginnings of a smile on her face. "Well, I said that I am having issues with Rose, but I suppose the cause of the issues would be Vriska." Kanaya's face contorts in distaste as she says it. "You see, it's rather impossible for Rose and I to spend 'quality time' together. Vriska is... hm, how should I put it...?"

"A meddler with no regard for other's privacy," Karkat supplies flatly.

"Yes, that is true." Kanaya fidgets. "More than that, though, she is becoming increasingly suffocating from the way that she persistently inserts herself into my time with Rose. We cannot have our own conversations now without her intrusion... It's becoming very stressful for Rose. I am worried that things may not work."

"Doesn't Vriska hang off of Terezi now?" Karkat asks. "From what I saw they may as well have been glued together by the ass."

Kanaya bites at her lip with way too prominent fangs. "They are very close now, yes, however... Vriska is noticeably bored. I feel that she intrudes to get something interesting to happen, but when it does not work her frustrations are projected onto Rose and I."

Karkat groans and wipes at his face. He feels exasperated already. "Right, right. So, Vriska won't fuck off to the point where you're desperate enough to talk to me about the issue in some fucked up section of the meteor that was probably built specifically to cater to the needs of a certain hornfucker with a loose grip on his raging highblood needs, and you're sure your relationship is going to go down into the flaming inferno of the green sun if something isn't done soon. Yes?"

Kanaya nods.

Karkat sighs. "Okay. What the hell am I supposed to do about it? I don't know if you've noticed, Kanaya, but I'm the universe's shittiest excuse for a mediator, so if you were expecting me to go sitting backwards on a chair to get down and serious with Vriska on her own insane issues... It's not going to go well."

"I know. I know..." Kanaya sighs as well, looking as though she's tossing an idea around in her mind. "I felt that I could use your help with a plan that I have formulated. One that will distract Vriska while I try to pick up the fallen pieces of my relationship with Rose?"

Karkat takes in a deep breath. He doesn't know if he'll like this. He's already bracing for impact. "And what is that plan?"

Kanaya hesitates. She doesn't look like she wants to say what comes next. "I thought that you and Dave could--"

"Dave?" Karkat squawks before Kanaya can continue. He shakes his head and crosses his arms. "No, no. Not happening, not in my own personal hell would it happen!"

"Karkat, please." Kanaya's eyes show obvious distress. It shuts Karkat up right away. "I don't mean to push you into anything serious, I simply thought that you, Dave and our quiet friend, the Mayor, could form a friendship of some kind? Or what would appear to be one to Vriska. Just for a short time so that I may fix things with Rose, and then you're free to do whatever you please. I know that Vriska has had a hard time approaching Dave and the Mayor to bother, but I feel that if you band together, it will make Vriska curious enough that I can have at least some time with Rose."

Karkat does not want to do this. He would rather face his chances with wasting away for the next few years alone in his room. He would rather launch himself into the furthest ring and fight a horrorterror. He would rather launch himself back in time and expose himself to a drone rather than doing this.

"This human means that much to you?" Karkat asks quietly, looking away from Kanaya so he can't see the look on her face anymore.

It takes her a moment to answer, and with the quick glance that Karkat takes he can see a light shade of jade on her brightly illuminated face. It's really that bad? He knows that Kanaya's interest in Rose was leaning towards the flushed side of things but wasn't sure if they had made it official yet. Proabably not, with the friction Vriska seems to be creating for them. 

"Yes," she answers, fully committed to that one word. "She does." 

Karkat tries to hold back any sounds of disagreement, disapproval or loathing of the future and just nods with his lips shut tight. He knew that would be Kanaya's answer. He isn't mad at her, though. "I'll do it, then."

The next time anyone accuses him of being anything less than a fucking charitable saint, he'll shove this in their face and have them eat their own shit-filled words.

Kanaya leans over, hesitates and looks at Karkat unsurely as if she needs permission, then wraps her arms around him in a slightly uncomfortable hug. Sitting and hugging is never really comfortable, but Karkat bears it and leans over as well to hug back. This really does mean a lot to Kanaya, then. Jesus, Karkat can say goodbye to the dream of having a mostly headache-free journey on the meteor once he becomes involved with Dave, but it's too late to back out. They've hugged. The contract is sealed.

"Thank you," Kanaya says, pulling away from the hug. "Really. As soon as things are alright again between Rose and I, I will let you know."

Karkat nods. "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it. I'm taking one for the team. The one that doesn't want to see you miserable."

They both stand and look around, engulfed by the awkward silence that follows after Karkat's surprisingly heartfelt words. So... does Karkat just leave now? Is there anything else to discuss? He has no idea. 

"Thank you, again," Kanaya says with a slight clearing of the throat. "Um. I shall see you soon?"

Karkat scratches at his head. "Likewise? Uh, sleep well, I guess..."

Kanaya nods and with that she walks off towards what must be another transportalizer in this room. God knows where that leads. Karkat leaves from the way he came in just to make things easier. He doesn't want to get lost somewhere again, especially now that he's got such a mission ahead of him.

Thankfully, he makes it back to familiar areas with much more ease than he did getting to the lab and quietly pads his way towards his room. He's not sure if Dave is still awake or not, but for his own sake he decides to say that he is not so that he can feel better about wanting to wait a while before he actually begins this fetid task.

He at least pulls open his husktop to contact Dave. Karkat's going to shoot a message and then go offline faster than Dave will ever be able to respond, and he'll be set. That's the plan. A small warning of sorts for the human on what will be taking place in the near future.

\---

CG: HEY, SHITWIPE.  
CG: GRAB THE MAYOR LATER AND I'LL MEET YOU AT THE COMMON AREA.  
CG: DON'T ASK QUESTIONS JUST BE THERE. "SEVEN MONTHS" IS NO LONGER THE STANDARD WAITING PERIOD FOR A FRESH DELIVERY OF STEAMING HOT PILES OF "FRIENDSHIP" AND "FUN".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw someone privately suggested something about john/dave/karkat and i'm considering it but maybe in a seperate fic or drabble!! much love <3


	4. Motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooh my god it lives. i'd like to have a valid excuse for the long wait but... sorry to say, i really dont ahaha. hey but at least its the same year still!! totally counts for something. as always, help editing by softjades!!

Dave isn't here. He's nowhere to be seen. Not a glimpse of red pyjamas to be found! The common area is empty save for Karkat and there are no messages whatsoever to explain why there is an absence of a certain 'coolkid' douchebag and The Mayor at that, too. Karkat, for one, feels highly offended.  
  
Like, sure, Karkat blew everyone off for a good few months and never gave a word to anyone during that time, but that should be fine because it's _him_ , right? Yes, yes. Definitely. Only Karkat is allowed to tell others to fuck off and leave him alone when he decides that he doesn't want the company. Only Karkat is allowed to tell _himself_ to fuck off and leave him alone when he's getting up in his own business! But not Dave. No way is Dave allowed the special permission to do this and leave Karkat to sit around and twiddle his thumbs like a pitiable loner. It's just not allowed.  
  
Karkat is considering a few things in this situation, with the most likely being for him to send a very strongly worded text to Dave about the levels in which he has achieved in being an ungrateful dickwad. He wants to do it. He wants to do it so badly. His fingers are twitching in anticipation, just waiting for Karkat to give in and allow them to gracefully stroke the keys of his husktop and compose one of Karkat's best written tongue lashings yet.  
  
He can't do it.  
  
Every time Karkat makes a move to uncaptchalogue his husktop Kanaya's voice rings in his mind and he can hear every tinge of stress that had been there when they talked. He reminds himself just how much he HAS to do this, otherwise he'll never be able to forgive himself for denying Kanaya's request in her time of need. He knows he wouldn't be able to handle a future where Kanaya is miserable all the time. He's not made of ice, after all. He has to will himself to get through this.  
  
But Dave still hasn't fucking shown up.  
  
Karkat's hands go to his hair and pull as he growls in frustration. He feels like an idiot for just sitting around in an empty room! He's been here for at least an hour! It's obvious that Dave is ignoring his request and that just peeves Karkat. Really fucking peeves him. Dave probably thinks this is goddamn game of 'stand up Karkat even though he never actually did that to your unsightly ass. Probably. More than likely. Ugh. UGH.  
  
No, Karkat has to do something about this. His husktop is out from his sylladex in a hot second and he's opening Trollian's chat client just as fast, typing rapidly at Dave's handle.

\---

  
CG: ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? YOU'RE REALLY NOT FUCKING SHOWING UP?  
CG: HONESTLY AFTER THE ENCOUNTER NOT TOO LONG AGO AND THE FACT THAT YOU PRETTY MUCH CONSTANTLY BLOW UP MY HUSKTOP WITH NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT INANE SHIT I EXPECTED YOU TO SHOW UP RATHER THAN LEAVING ME HIGH AND FUCKING DRY HERE.  
CG: DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?  
CG: BETTER ANSWER QUICK, THIS IS A LIGHTNING ROUND QUESTION. THIRTY SECONDS IS ALL YOU HAVE BEFORE I TEXTUALLY RIP YOU A NEW ONE.  
TG: dude   
CG: DUDE INDEED!   
CG: SADLY THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER THE JUDGE IS LOOKING FOR. THAT'S STRIKE ONE.  
TG: yeah ok chill out for a goddamn second while i write my defense for the jury alright  
TG: fuckin christ  
CG: I'M WAITING.  
TG: right well first id like to present the notion of 'why the fuck should i even be care' followed by the argument that 'youre a prick'  
TG: you cant just fuckin force me to be somewhere maybe i have my own shit going on yknow like maybe i have a LIFE  
TG: do you need a definition because i feel like thats a foreign concept to you  
CG: WHAT A SCATHING BURN YOU JUST DELIVERED. IT'S SO BAD, I THINK I CAN SMELL THE FLESH JUST FRYING HERE.   
CG: NO, WAIT, IT MUST BE MY IMAGINATION, BECAUSE IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED WE ALL HAVE JACK FUCKING SHIT TO DO AROUND HERE!   
TG: 'we all' meaning you   
TG: i have things to do believe it or not  
TG: people to see, fist bumps to give and cities to build  
TG: all that good shit  
CG: BULLSHIT.  
TG: im serious  
CG: WHEN ARE YOU EVER SERIOUS?  
TG: youd be surprised with how much i am just stone cold serious  
TG: AT LEAST 75% of me is pure stone  
TG: meaning that as well as being totally awesome and serious i also fucking rock  
CG: YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE.  
CG: HERE I AM, LAYING MY FUCKING HEART ON THE LINE ON THE INNOCENT PROSPECT OF SPARKING THE HUMAN FRIENDSHIPS, AND YOU INSTEAD STAND ME UP LIKE A TROLL TRYING TO BE FLUSHED WITH SOMEONE TOTALLY OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE AND THEN IMMEDIATELY BEING CULLED BY DRONES FOR BEING AN UNDESIRABLE SACK OF SHIT.  
TG: cool  
CG: NOT COOL!  
CG: FUCKING RUDE IS WHAT IT IS.  
TG: yeah well so is ignoring basically everyone because youre squicked out by some aliens arriving on your shitty asteroid turf  
CG: FUCK OFF.  
TG: gladly

\---

  
Karkat stares at his screen with the deadliest scowl on his face as he reads the little pop-up notification informing him that Dave just blocked him. The little shit honest to god just blocked him. If he hadn't just been screaming at his screen with some very choice words directed at the obnoxious red text, he'd probably be marching down to launch his physical and very real foot up Dave's ass. Wastechute. Whatever.  
  
He stands and tries to kick his husktop so he can do _something_ with his anger, but it scuttles away before the screen can taste his foot instead. So Karkat's ass has the honour of meeting the floor once more and they slam each other hard like one had just come back home after five years out on the battlefield. What a beautiful reunion.  
  
Karkat mutters to himself as he picks himself back up from the floor and hobbles over to catch his husktop, promising not to dismember its legs as long as it stops trying to get away. It seems to be smarter than that and keeps scurrying outrunning Karkat thanks to the lingering pain in his ass.  
  
It takes less than a minute of trying to futilely continue the chase for Karkat to give up and go back to his room. Wherever the thing ends up is its own problem, not his. Yeah. It could fall off of the meteor for all he cares! The abyss around them can deal with it then.  
  
Except all of Karkat's movies are on that thing. Fuck. Even if he is sick of pretty much everything in the library he has on it, how can he survive without the comfort of having Dane Cook's face just a click away? The answer is easy -- he can't.

Karkat stops in his tracks, rubs his temples (and his ass), groaning as he commits to continuing the chase which is probably going to become more like hide and seek with the amount of time he's given the thing to hide. He thinks it's safe to say that he is never giving the shitty piece of technology the option to move on its own ever again.  
  


* * *

  
As it turns out, staying in one place for a long, uninterrupted period of time tends to make the memory rusty concerning directions and general familiarity about where the hell Karkat is in this maze of grey walls and cool metal floors. It feels so empty in these halls and Karkat can't help but jump at slight creaks and what he thinks might be another set of footsteps, but it's just his own echoing into the dark. Trolls are supposed to be on the nocturnal side of things, but Karkat will admit that this kind of darkness is making him uncomfortable. Areas unused are usually abandoned and receive no special treatment in the way of decoration and light. It's reminding him a lot of his nightmares, where he's on his own and left to face the dark that is filled with grotesque monsters.

He considers turning back, because this level of darkness is really starting to creep him out now that he's started thinking about his nightmares. He pauses when he hears talking. It's distant and muffled, but it means he must be close to somewhere inhabited, right? He looks around to locate the direction of this voice and looks up, seeing a vent. Great. What an absolutely sane and safe plan Karkat is considering right now.  
  
Though, if he keeps walking down the halls, how long will it be until he actually hits familiar territory?  
  
Fuck it. Karkat starts trying to get at the vent. It's annoying how small he is in comparison to everyone else on the floating rock. His attempts at reaching fail and jumping to try and get a hold of the bars of the vent even more so. He grumbles with exasperation and wonders if his claws would break if he tried to grapple his way up? No, that idea blows. He's not even going to try.  
  
Instead he empties his sylladex onto the floor. All of it. While most of it is useless trash he hasn't gotten around to launching off the meteor with immense satisfaction, he actually has a few stacks of books. He may have cheated the system with that one, but it worked, and now he can use them as elevation to finally get a hold of the fucking vent and pry the cover off. He grins in his triumph and wriggles his way up and into the cramped vent, shuffling on his stomach towards the talking.  
  
Karkat pauses when he's met with a fork in the vent and listens for the talking before choosing the way to go, and as he gets closer a realization strikes that stops his legs mid-shuffle. The voice is Dave. He grimaces. Turning back isn't even an option now, though. He wouldn't remember how to get back and even more than that, he sacrificed all of his reading material to get in here. He has to go through with it.  
  
He at least tries to keep quiet as he gets nearer and nearer towards the light of the room Dave is in as well as his voice. It sounds like he's talking to someone? There's no response when he asks something and pauses for an answer, but then a second later he's laughing and saying 'you get it, dude'. Has he jumped off the deep end? After Gamzee, Karkat was sure he would be next in line.  
  
The conversation Dave has seems to end but he can still hear the human muttering to himself now that he's practically peering into the room. There's no other way around it when his face is against the bars, he's going to have to... Well. He has two options. Open it and hopefully scare the shit out of Dave, or get his attention first and then open it.  
  
Karkat opts for the first choice, pushing the cover of the vent off and wincing when metal hits metal. He sees Dave's reaction, at least, and sneers because Dave looks like he nearly pissed himself. He's standing and in a fighting stance within a second and Karkat likes to imagine wide eyes with fear in them. When he crawls out of the vent, Dave's expression (judging by the twist of his mouth) goes quickly from confusion to anger. His fists are clenched.  
  
"What the fuck," is what Dave has to say first. Karkat just dusts himself down with a huff. "No, seriously, what the fuck, dude?"  
  
Karkat crosses his arms. "What? There's nothing unusual or surprising about this. You didn't show up where I oh-so-politely asked you to be. Well, guess what, you ungrateful sack of shit, 'hanging out' today was not an optional."  
  
Karkat watches Dave's nose scrunch. "Yeah and so obviously the course of action to take is to stalk me through the vents like a fucking creep after hot pics of some girl he has no nuts to actually talk to, like, what a fuckin' loser, you probably would have had a chance if you spent a day being a decent being rather than filling up your internet cache with the most sadistic porn available through the deep web."  
  
The words. They won't stop. Karkat already feels a headache coming on. "I can't believe paradox space thought you were a good enough waste of resources that it allowed you to infest every timeline! It's like paradox space _wants_ you spewing word-bile to every iteration of every person that ever existed!"  
  
"You're one to talk," Dave scoffs. "If you really hate me that much then why the fuck are you suddenly trying to ride my dick like it's the hot new bike everyone wants for Christmas, huh? I'm getting some mixed messages, man. I think everyone is and we're all tired of it. The Mayor isn't gonna like that you're holding up construction as well, so hurry up and give me a reason to not ban you from Can Town."  
  
Karkat's brows pinch together and he finally notices more than the caped asshole in front of him. He spots the one Dave is calling The Mayor, if the scrappily fashioned sash is anything to go by. Behind the both of them is a mess of cans and chalk drawings that look like those ridiculous pieces of square fabric that he remembers John and every other dribbling toddler in the baby detention playing on. Why are they recreating the baby detention square in chalk? They have the means to make whatever the hell they want, why not do that rather than having to constantly scrape a coloured stick on the ground every time someone trods over the markings? Fucking ridiculous. Some of these cans are stacked in ways Karkat can only recognise as shoddy and rushed, too. If there was anything actually alive to live here it would die by unsound structural integrity.  
  
"Is this the silent treatment?" Dave asks, snapping Karkat out of his intense analysis of this pile of literal garbage and chalk they're calling a town. "Do I need to count to three? You gotta answer, Karkat. It's the meaning between a no Karkat's allowed sign going up and me being the gracious second in command here and letting your crimes slide."  
  
Karkat's face scrunches. "I said we were going to hang out. I'm refusing to drop this arrangement, so sit your ass down while I show you how to build properly. God. You're responsible for this atrocity, aren't you?" he asks, gesturing at the barely stable stack of cans he was eyeing before. "A wiggler could do a better job. A wiggler rendered immobile could do a better job!"  
  
Dave doesn't sit down or stop frowning, but he doesn't stop Karkat either. It takes some time for Karkat to figure out how to make the building stable and stylish, but once it's done he stands back and presents his handiwork to Dave with his arms gesturing towards it.  
  
"For the record Terezi built that one, so, sick burn on the blind chick, man," he says, breathing out through his nose in what can be assumed is a small laugh.  
  
Karkat feels a slight flush to his cheeks and wonders if Dave is going to tell her what he said. Fuck, he's so stupid. He tries to distract himself by making a proposition to Dave.  
"Either way, I just saved the imaginary inhabitants to an entirely avoidable death," Karkat states with his hands on his hips. "Had you continued to blunder about without doing safety checks, death would befall this town and it'd be your own damn fault. You know what? I'm checking every last piece of cylindrical metal in this entire room for instability, so be grateful of my generosity here."  
  
Dave's lip curls in disdain. "Dude, this is kinda my thing. You know. That I _enjoy_. Pretty sure going all safety police -- maybe even being here in general -- is gonna kill my enjoyment and spit into the grave at the funeral."  
  
Karkat groans and pushes a hand through his hair. Why is he so difficult?  
  
"Dave, do you not get it? Do I have to spell this out?" Silence draws as Dave waits for Karkat to continue. "Ugh, look, maybe I was being a huge wiggler about everything. I'm asking to start fresh here, or something shitty and cliche like that. I've seen the light. My path is clear now. All that vomit inducing crap that I've heard way too much for my liking, because, you know, I'm actually sick of being on my own and going through all of my movies for the five-hundredth time! There, I said it! Are you happy? Have your prayers been answered?"  
  
Dave is silent. He swings his foot against the ground, letting it scuff against the floor as his hands dig into his pockets but remain there. "Well ain't that sincere."  
  
He turns away from Karkat and walks to a corner of the room, crouching down and working on stacking cans again with murmuring to The Mayor. That's it? That's all Karkat gets for his soul-bearing admissions and tremendous effort? He wants to scream and kick some cans to the ground, but refrains. He's had too many bad experiences today with kicking things. Instead he groans and starts doing his self-appointed job.  
  
At least he wasn't kicked out?  
  


* * *

  
What feels like an hour passes of sorting through cans and making arrangements so they won't fall on a helpless citizen, or at the very least, Karkat. Dave seems to have eased up and is back to talking to The Mayor at a somewhat regular volume. Karkat is starting to understand that The Mayor does actually respond in his own ways from the quick glances he steals when there's a pause. Karkat has offered a response of his own here or there, but it's met with one word replies that make it hard to get a good footing on the conversation mountain.  
  
As silence lulls into the room once again a small tip tapping is heard in the vent. Karkat looks up and spots his husktop peeking out of the shadows, crawling back to him like the worthless pile of technology it is. Did it come to find him because he has a message? The screen is lit up but Karkat can't see clearly. It stays still like that for a moment at the edge of the vent and who knew a computer could be so dumb. It walks like there's still something to walk on and slams on the metal floor, leg attachments scattering as well as the entire bottom plate. When Karkat picks it up everything crammed inside the thing spills out of the bottom, an unfixable mess.  
  
Karkat mourns with a long groan. Not for his good for nothing husktop, but for his files and movie library. It's all gone. Sure, he has the equivalent of a cellphone the humans use now, so he can still pester, but... _fuck_.  
  
Dave has come to inspect the mess and sighs through his nose. "That sucks."  
  
"Thanks for the support," Karkat grumbles without the slightest hint of actual appreciation. "It can't bring the movies back, though."  
  
He hears Dave's clothes rustle and he assumes that was a shrug. "Movie night at my crib, then. Next one is at noon, twelve sharp. After all, my bedtime is four in the afternoon, dears. Don't forget to bring some snacks for everyone, Karkat, Judy always skimps on bringing anything edible, the daft woman," he rants, voice raising to a higher pitch as he impersonates someone, hand movements and all. Karkat doesn't know who he's trying to be, but his arms drop with his expression when he's done.  
  
"But really. The Mayor's my movie bud always but that's 'cause he can roll with with anything, he's so awesome. But if you're really serious about all of that super touchy feely shit you said before about friendship or whatever the fuck, then this is your test. You gotta watch a movie with me. My choice. No bailing. Flipping out is allowed as long as it's valid and has some just criticism. Or I find it funny," he explains with a shrug when he pauses. "You down?"  
  
Karkat looks to the remains of what had been his source of entertainment for too long now and then back at Dave. "Fine. I'll take your test and win it. You'll quiver at the incredibly well thought out and flawless criticisms I have to offer."  
  
Dave scoffs, but the slight smile says he's entertained. "You don't even know what I'm gonna pick. You don't win tests either, you pass 'em. Meaning the result of pass or fail is my decision.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't want to say the next chapter will be a long wait but you never know... i'm still on a inspiration spike so we'll see o;


End file.
